[Andy Lawton]

The kit arrived. I’m really not sure how to make it work though …

If you get any ideas, let us know!

[Andy Lawton]

Out of curiosity, I took the door panel off to see if it would be possible to fit one of these kits.

After a quick look, I’m not sure how easy it would be. On my 1974 DSuper, the rod runs horizontally from the internal handle to the door latch along the top of the door. I can’t see how I could fit the solenoid anywhere in there. There’s not a lot of space!

Maybe it’s easier on older models?

[Andy Lawton]

I had a look at that kit. They are loads of them on Amazon, AliExpress, Ebay etc. They are all made in China, so I guess they are all the same. I have ordered one from Amazon, as the postage to me from Hawk is excessive as I’m in the EU. It should be here on Saturday. If it ever stops raining and warms up, I’ll see how feasible it is to fit one.

[Andy Lawton]

Impressive! What did you use for central locking?

[Andy Lawton]

I don’t know if you have a Facebook account, but if you do, join the Vehicle ‘Registrations & Law in France’ group. They have a lot of information there that will help, and professionals that will answer questions.

[Andy Lawton]

It finally stopped raining, so I had a look. As Paul said, they are bolted through the bottom of the bumper and through the valence. I’ll have a closer look when things dry out a little more.

[Andy Lawton]

Thanks for the information Paul. Sure enough, the hole was blocked. I’ve unblocked it, and now I have vacuum.

[Andy Lawton]

I found a list of technical notes

http://www.hd19.net/technique/courrier_information_agents/notes_techniques/notes_techniques.html

[Andy Lawton]

Here you go.

[Andy Lawton]

Yes, it’s a change from Solex to Weber. They are completely compatible. The throttle linkage, choke cable and air cleaner connections are all the same. That’s what the Citroen technical note said.

It’s a decided improvement on the Solex. There’s no obvious wear on the Solex, but there’s something wrong with it. I’m going to give up chasing this now. All the pieces are in place, and it’s a question of tuning from now onwards. There are lots of other things to be getting on with!

[Andy Lawton]

It arrived! Looked a little grubby, but on dismantling, was very clean inside. Even so, I put it through the ultrasonic cleaner.

Fitted it this morning. Whoever designed either the carb or the manifold needs a good talking to! I had to grind material off an 11mm spanner to be able to get to one of the mounting nuts.

It’s _much_ better with this carb. I don’t think it will ever tick over as smoothly as a Rolls, but I’m sure that after the car’s had a bit of a run, I can dial in the idle mixture a bit better.

[Andy Lawton]

I can buy stuff – but sending it to the UK – well, that’s a different matter!

[Andy Lawton]

I did relocate to France – I emigrated a year ago. I’m a legal migrant. And I came over in a boat. Bloody Brittany Ferries!

I’ve bought a few things from Leboncoin. It’s like Gumtree – the wild west of selling stuff. They do have a functional refund system though. I tried to buy a carb a week or so ago, it fell through but I got my money back. You really do have to do a lot of investigation into the sellers.

I did put a scope on the old regulator, and it was pretty noisy. The solid state one should be more stable. I haven’t scoped this one yet because it’s too cold to mess around at the minute. It does give 14.5v at idle, which is better than the old mechanical one.

From what I read I can see it’s more complicated for a BVH car because of the lock out for the starter. There’s a PDF around detailing what to do in this case. Aussiefrogs site. If I’d have knowm I would have maybe experimented with this – https://www.falconparts.com/ford-falcon-auto-parts/pc/ONE-WIRE-VOLTAGE-REGULATORS-FOR-ALTERNATOR-23p1013.htm but I had already bought this https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B07DDDQDLG?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details.

Here’s a copy of the PDF I finally found.

[Andy Lawton]

I have bought a Weber. It was on leboncoin at a good price. Should be here next week.

In the meantime, I was browsing through the archived forums, and found a post about voltage regulators and 123 ignition. Interesting, I thought, as I have a solid state regulator that I’ve been meaning to install. The old regulator causes the lights to fluctuate in brightness and at idle, the charging voltage was not much more than the battery voltage. The post said that after they had fitted one, it removed an issue they had with cutting out. They had a 123 ignition system. This pushed me into swapping out the old regulator. It’s very easy, if you buy the right one.

I’m not sure if it’s the placebo effect, but things do seem to be better. I now get a stable 14.3v from idle all the way to 3000 rpm. I’ve not gone higher, but I see no reason why it should change. I can use 1 of the old mounting points, but I need to drill and tap for another one. Or maybe I can mount the new one on a plate, and drill that for two of the existing mounting points.

Maybe I’ll paint it black to match everything else.

[Andy Lawton]

M4 – thanks. I’ll buy a few hundred so I can lose them.

I don’t know about the challenge yet. I’ve not taken the car on a long run, and I’d like to build up a bit of confidence first. Plus I have some UJ boots to change. And probably another cafetiere- I’ve done one, and when I looked at the other it seemed it would only be a matter of time before that went. It never ends!

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